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Forces of Nature:
Chapter 9
BPOV: a snap shot from the last two weeks
I caught sight of him on my walk back from Carlisle's. He was on the quad sitting with his friend Emmett, and the other new recruit Rosalie. Rosalie was a girl after my own heart, strong and independent, why she wasted any of her time with those other two girls I had no clue. But then again I still couldn't figure out why Carlisle had recruited them either. He looked so relaxed sitting there in the sun laughing with them. The sun was gleaming off his bronze hair as his head thrown back in laughter. It was nice to see him this relaxed, leaning back on his arms legs stretched out in front of him. He has been so tense every other time I saw him in the last two weeks. I couldn't help but sit on the hill and watch him.
"You know, you spend as much time watching him as he does looking for information on you." I heard from beside me.
I turned and scowled at my friend. "I don't watch him all the time."
"Yes you do, don't try to deny it." He said.
"Old habits I guess…"
"I don't think its old habits that cause you to watch him like that," he said with a light laugh.
"Jasper you know better than that." I said in a serious tone.
"What I know is that you know better than to think I can't recognize your emotions." He looked at me intently. "You really should talk to him. It seems like he's a good guy… but you already knew that."
"Oh I do, do I?"
"Yeah, you do. Seriously, Bella, when are you going to come to terms with the fact that everything that has happened is not his fault? You can't blame him forever."
"Why not? He may not have set things in motion, but things would not have turned out the way that they have if it weren't for him." I turned to look back at him now. I watched as his friends left, and his body became more rigid as if whatever tension he was keeping at bay had seeped right back in.
"Are you sure about that?" Jasper asked.
I turned to look to my friend again, opening my mouth to tell him that yes, I was sure; of course things would have been different. But would they have been? If it were someone else, would the outcome have been the same? I snapped my jaw shut again and growled through my teeth as I continued to watch him.
Of course, Jasper would make me question myself.
EPOV: back to the present
I stayed up last night, I never really slept much anyway, but I wanted to listen for her leaving.
Finally a little after 5am, I could smell coffee brewing. I figured it had to be her, since it sure as hell wasn't me and we were the only two apartments on the floor. I changed my clothes quickly brushing my teeth and splashing some water on my face. She wasn't leaving without me catching her today. I didn't have any training planned today, but I was determined to talk to her. It was my day's only goal.
I heard her door creak open slowly as if she knew I was listening for her, and she was trying to sneak out. I kept close to my own door, hand on the knob ready to swing it open as soon as I heard her door click closed again.
As soon as I heard it, I stepped out into the hallway. I was dressed to go running, since I was almost certain that's what she would have to be doing this early in the morning, and even if not it was a good cover for why I was out and about this early. I wanted to talk and I wanted answers but I didn't want the her to think I was stalking her.
"Hey" I called quietly, as if I were trying to keep the morning peace.
She looked up at me startled and you guessed it – dressed to run.
"Hi" she said back, not exactly friendly, as she turned to walk down the hall. I kept up.
"So listen, sorry about last night, I didn't invite her over here, and you know… didn't mean to disturb you." I said as I held the door to the stairs open for her.
She passed through under my outreached arm, nodding a thank you.
"It's none of my business what you do with her Edward, but she shouldn't be gallivanting all over the compound like that, and she sure as hell shouldn't be banging on someone's door and shouting at people in the middle of the night." She shot me a sideways glance as we made it to the bottom of the stairs. "Your little girlfriend is going to have a hard time here, if she thinks this is all fun and games."
"Isn't it though? Fun and games I mean?" I admit my frustration was starting to seep into my voice, though I tried hard to keep it in check. "And just so everyone's got this straight, she is not my girlfriend."
I followed her as she began to walk in the direction of the jogging path.
"She wants to be though," she said snidely, before stopping to look at me "why are you following me?"
"I'm not – I'm going for a run, what are you doing?" shit.
"But you always run at 6:30," she said before she could catch herself.
I half smirked and gave her a sideways glance of my own. "Keeping tabs on me?" For some reason that made me happy, but I kept that thought internal. She didn't need to know that shit!
She let out a low groan, and continued to walk. We were nearing the track now as she set down her bag and began stretching. "Old habits…" She said so quietly I was sure it wasn't meant for me to here.
"What do you mean?" I asked watching her flinch a little, as she realized that I had heard her. I smiled to myself; I had just spoken more words to her in the last 7 minutes than ever before. Maybe I was going to get somewhere with this.
"Nothing." She replied with a tone of finality, but I wasn't ready to drop it.
"No it was something. There seems to be a lot of somethings I don't know about around here, it's a little creepy you know." I gave her a half smirk to let her know I was only a little joking. I wanted to get some answers but attacking her with questions wasn't going to get me anywhere. "Maybe you could answer some questions for me; you seem to be well informed…."
"Sorry, I don't chat while I run…" she said as she cut her stretches short and began her laps.
I followed.
"Well I've got all day." I
said catching up to her.
She smirked and kept running.
And so we ran. When I finished my 8th mile, my new limit, up from 3 just weeks ago, I noticed that she had yet to even begin to slow down. So I pushed on, trying my best to keep pace with her. During the 10th mile, I couldn't take it anymore and had to walk it out for a bit, but somehow she kept running.
She was graceful when she ran, like her body was built for it. She kept her arms bent and tucked in a bit swinging them slightly with her paces, and her legs carried her swiftly, I admit they were nice legs. But the way that her hair swung back and forth trailing behind her in her ponytail was mesmerizing. She had beautiful hair, and I just wanted to run my fingers through it.
Yeah like that's gonna happen Cullen, you can barely get her to acknowledge your existence.
During the 11th mile I had caught my breath enough again to run alongside her. She was just starting to show some signs of fatigue but she didn't seem to let that get to her as she continued to push forward into a 12th mile and I slowed to a walk again. When she came around on me on what would have to be her thirteenth mile she said "I thought you had all day? Where's your stamina Edward?" shaking her head at me with an evil smirk.
She was teasing me.
I smiled, hell it was better than her yelling at me. She teased me in the bar. Teasing I could handle, its only one step away from flirting which I desperately wanted to do with her… among other things.
She kept on running for another half of a lap before she gave up herself and starting a brisk walk for a cool down. I jogged over to her to catch up. Maybe a different approach to all of this would help. I could get to know her a little, and get the answers that I was looking for. 2 birds -1 stone.
As I came up behind her, I couldn't help myself but reach out and give a little tug to her ponytail. I wanted to grab it like a handle and pull her into me, but I knew better than that.
"So, how long have you been here?" I asked keeping my voice light and friendly.
"A while" she said.
"Well that's ominous, how long is a while?"
She let out a deep sigh before looking into my eyes. "Six years." She said as if she were telling one of the biggest secrets of her life.
"SIX YEARS? How old are you?"
"21, what does that have to do with anything?" she asked shaking her head in annoyance and turning away from me again.
I grabbed her elbow and turned her back to me again. As I did so I felt another jolt of electricity run through me just as it did the last time that I touched her. I sucked in a breath at the feeling and I heard a small gasp escape her lips. Her eyes widened as she looked at me.
I'm not sure how long it was before I said something else to her, it felt like I looked into her eyes for hours, but I knew it was only seconds really.
"You've been here since you were 15?" I was shocked. Why would she be so young when she got here and everyone else seemed to be older?
"Yeah, we didn't all lead charmed perfect lives before we showed up on Carlisle's door step." She was upset.
"Hey, sorry, "I said softly "I didn't mean to upset you." I wanted to tell her that I hadn't exactly lived a charmed life either, but I knew now what not the time. "You want to go get some breakfast or coffee or something?"
"I have training to do today and a meeting with Carlisle later." She reached down to grab up her bag slinging it over her shoulder.
"Oh, ok. Well maybe we could meet up later or something. I'd really like to talk to you some more."
"We'll see" she said turning to go.
"Good bye Isabella" I called.
"Good bye Edward." She said back as she walked away.
Energized I made my way over to the kitchen for breakfast, hoping to catch up with Emmett. This was progress.
We didn't meet up again that day. In fact, if I hadn't changed my running schedule, I wouldn't have seen her at all over the next two weeks. But every morning since that morning I was up and at the track by 530, running right along with her. Making small talk while we stretched and cooled down. Never while running, after all Isabella doesn't chat while she runs. I noticed as the days went on that she her smile would grow a little until it finally reached her eyes. I was surprised this morning when she actually looked like she was waiting for me in the hallway as we made our way to the track. I smiled back at her as I held the door open at the top of the stairs for her to go ahead.
It became our routine. A small part of her day, that I would get to spend with her and I relished it.
We never talked about the things that I wanted to talk about. I knew in the back of my mind that if I asked the questions that I wanted to, that she would most likely shut down again and I couldn't have that.
I didn't tell Emmett any more after that first day either. It felt as though this time was ours, and I had a feeling she wasn't sharing this information with her friends. Not that I ever saw her with friends.
I made it to the kitchen for lunch after leaving combat training late today. Training with Sam was hard, much harder than it had been with Luke. I had been right about him, much more the fighter. He had a raw edge to him, as if he could lose all control and let the anger inside of him bubble up and over easily if he gave into himself.
I turned from the serving area, food on my tray and looked towards the table that I normally sat at with Emmett. He wasn't here, not that I thought that he would be, I knew he was normally out of here by now, but Jessica and Lauren were sitting there, whispering back and forth and shooting glances at me. When they notice me looking at them they giggled, seeming more like 16 year old girls, than the 22 year old women they were impersonating. I sighed to myself as I tried to decide if I really wanted to make my way over and sit with them. It was the table we all normally sat at, and I didn't feel like making enemies just so I could go sit by myself and eat in silence. My nerves were frayed thinking of my next session that began in an hour with Kate. Still no progress on that front.
I made my way slowly to the table, noticing that they kept their eyes on me, but kept up the whispering as if they were gossiping about something. As I got closer Jessica's glance shot back in another direction for a fraction of a second before Lauren elbowed her pulling her attention back to me.
My eyes slid to where Jessica had just glanced and I noticed Isabella sitting at a table in the back corner by a window. She had a half eaten sandwich on the plate in front of her, her knees pulled up in front of her, feet resting on the front edge of her chair. In one hand, she had the apple that she was munching on, and the other was a book that she was reading. Her head was tilted to the side as her eyes scanned the written words on the page, and I silently thanked mother nature for the sun gleaming in from the window, reflecting highlights of red in her hair, and making her peaches and cream skin glow. She was beautiful, and before I could catch myself, I had walked right past my usual table and the girls seated there, and made my way over to her. I heard them scowling at my ignorance of them, but my eyes stayed trained on her.
She didn't look up from her book as she chewed her bite of apple, and I was certain that she didn't notice me standing across the table from her.
"Good afternoon Edward," she said, still not looking up, just as I reached her table.
"Hey…" I replied. "Mind if I sit with you?"
She looked up at me then and I received the most breathtaking smile of my life. She hadn't answered yet but her head tilted to the other side, as she craned her neck to look around me at something behind me, her eyebrows raised. "Your friends wouldn't like that very much." She said before looking directly at me and smiling again.
"They'll be fine." I said taking the seat across from her.
"Yes, but will I be? You don't see the death glares I'm getting right now."
I scoffed, "Please- they're harmless. You can't tell me that your scare of them," I teased blowing off her concerns. "So… you do actually eat?" I said grinning at her.
"Of course I eat." She said back with a little mischievous look gleaming in her eye. "I just usually do it at home." She had set her book down on the table still open but her knees were still pulled up to her chest while she played with her apple.
"Uh, huh. Just another part of your plot to avoid me." I said sarcastically.
Her eyes lost a little bit of the gleam from our happy banter. "I've given up on avoiding you, seems you've been pretty good at thwarting even my best efforts." She sounded resigned.
"Good, you shouldn't avoid me, we should be friends." Or more… I thought to myself.
"Friends huh?" she leaned into the table a bit looking at me skeptically. "I don't know if I can do that."
"Of course you can, see we run together in the mornings, have lunch together every now and then- this of course is only our first- and you know we just do it- be friends I mean, you can't have so many friends that you don't need even just one more."
"And how would your friends feel about that?" she asked looking down at her apple before taking another small bite.
I watched as she chewed. "My friends will be fine, what about yours?"
She looked up at me for a second, seeming almost startled. "I don't really have friends, well actually I have two to be exact, but one of them I haven't seen in a few years."
"Really? No friends? What about your boyfriend?" I asked thinking of surfer boy from the bar a couple months back.
"Boyfriend?" she asked confused.
"The guy from the bar, you two seemed pretty cozy, how does that work with you being here and all?"
She laughed lightly at me for a second, "he's not my boyfriend- that's Jasper – he is the one person that I can go to for anything. These days he fills the best friend slot."
"These days?"
"My other friend used to fill it, but when I came here, I felt it was best to let him go. He didn't need to be all caught up in this stuff." Her tone was ominous.
"Didn't?" I asked.
"Yeah, things change – people change. He should be here now, but he doesn't really believe, well, he believes, but his Dad is sick, and nothing – I mean nothing would take him away from caring for his father."
"Huh, I'm still not sure I believe either, I can't blame him, if my mom was sick I wouldn't be here either."
"Yes you would." She muttered.
"Excuse me?"
"You would be here. It's the way things work, you are supposed to be here…. Never mind."
"No, no wait, we're finally getting somewhere here. I keep getting all these little snip-its and innuendos but no one comes out and says what the really mean. Come one we're going to be friends now, I think it's time you spilled." I tried to keep my voice light and the banter up, but I really wanted some answers, and I had a feeling that she was well aware of what ever was being kept from me.
"I told you we weren't friends Edward." She said closing her book that had been sitting open on the table and beginning to gather her stuff.
"Pfft that was before, we're friends now remember?" I groaned in my head thinking I had pushed her too far too fast. She hasn't left yet… I said to myself.
"Trust me, we are better off not friends." She said her voice almost sad.
"Why do you say that?" I asked sincerely.
She sat there for a minute searching my face for something, but I don't know what. Maybe she found it though because she opened her mouth to answer, and just as she did so, someone came bursting with force through the doors causing anyone left in the room to jump a bit. Her eyes turned frantic as we both turned towards whoever was barreling in.
"Bella!" Sam shouted as he made his way towards her. She jumped up and frantically paced towards him as well, I followed close behind her.
"We've got to go- Right now! It's Jake" Sam said to her forcefully even though he was clearly out of breath. I watched as a pained and horrified look flashed across her face.
